Driver in fatal Tulalip crash allegedly used drug ‘Molly’

TULALIP — Deputies are investigating whether drugs and alcohol played a role in a fatal crash early Tuesday on the Tulalip Indian Reservation, according to a police report.

Around 12:30 a.m., a Mount Vernon man had been driving northbound on 27th Avenue NE when his car reportedly left the roadway, went through the T-intersection at 116th Street NE and slammed into a tree at high speed.

By the time a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy got to the car, the 19-year-old passenger, Jacob A. Hedington of Arlington, was dead.

While talking to the driver, also 19, deputies reported that his eyes were bloodshot and his breath smelled of alcohol, according to court papers.

The man said he met the passenger for the first time that night, at Twin Rivers park just outside Arlington. According to the deputy’s report, the driver allegedly said he had three shots of whiskey and had taken a tenth of a gram of MDMA, a psychedelic drug that is commonly referred to as “Molly.”

The deputies obtained a search warrant for a blood draw.

The driver said he didn’t know how fast he was going when he went off the roadway, a deputy wrote. He was taken to Providence Medical Center with minor injuries.

The man also reportedly had a Colt Cobra revolver tucked into the front of his waist band. He said it was his mother’s, and that he took it for protection because he’s “paranoid that way,” according to court papers.

The man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for investigation of vehicular homicide and carrying a concealed pistol without a permit.

Everett District Court Judge Tam Bui set bail Wednesday afternoon to $20,000, weighing the suspect’s age, lack of criminal history and current evidence. She said the amount may be revisited at a later date.